Health and Social Development

Health and social development projects support the reform of secondary education; control the spread of infectious diseases; increased capacity of health services; provision of national level health policy assistance; provision of expanded and improved reproductive health services; and improved conditions for vulnerable children and youth.

Rebuilding Lives
Save the Children
Sept. 2004 - Sept. 2010
www.savethechildren.org

This project improves the well-being of street and vulnerable children by providing services to help prevent children living on the street and through protection of existing street children.  Through day centers and mobile outreach services, the project serves approximately 3,000 street and other vulnerable children. In response to the August conflict in Georgia and to reduce the negative impact of the war on vulnerable displaced children, the project expanded its activities to three orphanages in Tbilisi and Gori to prevent new cases of institutionalization and abandonment, and support reunions with families.

Supporting Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities
Save the Children
Sept. 2006 - Jan. 2011
www.savethechildren.org

The project aims to foster the conditions for equal opportunities and full participation of people with disabilities in the political, economic and social life of Georgia through strengthening the institutional and advocacy capacities of Disabled Persons' Organizations and improving coordination between the government and local and international organizations to develop coherent policy and strategies to address disability issues.  The project is being implemented in partnership with a local organization -   Coalition for Independent Living.  

Education Management Project
Chemonics International
June 2009 - June 2012
www.chemonics.com

This project is designed to build management capacity in the education sector through establishment of an education management training program for administrators supported by necessary financial and administrative policy reforms.  The objectives are: to improve long-term institutional capacity of Georgia to better manage the education system and lead its transformation;  and, ensure the effectiveness of education policies on management, finance, and accreditation through support to the Ministry of Education and Science (MES), MES educational agencies, and Education Resource Centers.

Tuberculosis Treatment and Prevention Project
Medical Service Corporation International (MSCI)
March 2003 - Sept. 2010
http://www.mscionline.com/

This project focuses on the expansion of the Directly Observed Therapy short-course (DOTS) to ensure effective diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) in Tbilisi and eventually nationwide.  The project supports the National TB Program to improve clinical and laboratory services for TB patients in Tbilisi, Poti, and Adjara, as well as links HIV/AIDS and TB Programs, as a result of which all HIV-positive patients will be protected from TB through measures to avoid dual infection. After August 2008 war program expanded to Shida Kartli, to provide DOTS services to the population affected by the war.

School Rehabilitation
CHF
June 2009 - March 2010
www.chf.ge

As part of a larger Georgia Employment and Infrastructure Initiative project, this project will support the immediate rehabilitation and upgrades for 20 badly deteriorated public schools located in the former conflict zones of Gori and Kareli districts of the Shida Kartli region.

Emergency Medical Services
Emory University School of Medicine
Sept. 2007 - Sept. 2010
www.emory.edu

The activity supports the development of Georgia's Emergency Medical Services system in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs.  The activity supports the establishment of an Emergency Department (ED), institutionalizes teaching capacity, develops emergency care models, improves referral and outreach, and promotes Government spending in health.  The project will improve delivery of services directed at the considerable burden of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and trauma in Georgia. 

Georgia Vocational Education Project
American Institutes for Research
May 2008 - May 2010
http://www.air.org/

The program is focused on improving vocational education and training in construction and tourism, by building direct partnerships between vocational schools and employers to help ensure the country's ability to meet workforce needs. The program provides short-term, intensive training to Georgian workers to fill job opportunities created by post-conflict reconstruction projects as well as secondary support industries through rapid, intensive courses that directly meet the needs of employers.  Over 40 construction firms have requested that USAID help vocational training centers set up intensive, practical courses in construction trades that train graduates to work to International Building Code Standards.  Courses have been established in vocational training centers located in Tbilisi and Gori. 

Nursing Vocational Education Project
Emory University
Oct. 2009 - Oct. 2011
http://www.emory.edu/

The immediate goal is to improve the competencies of nurses currently practicing in Georgia through an intensive training program. An important segment will be teaching leadership and management skills to key nursing staff, and demonstrating how to provide continuous in-service education in their respective hospitals.  The initial focus of this activity will be the forty-two hospitals owned by Block Georgia.  A long-term goal is to establish a degree-granting school of nursing in cooperation with the Government of Georgia that will help to improve the nursing profession in Georgia.  

Health System Strengthening Project
Abt. Associates, Inc.
Oct. 2009 - Oct. 2014
http://www.abtassociates.com/                                           

The goal of the project is to support The Government of Georgia's health reform efforts, which are aimed at improving the health status of the population, and increasing the quality of, access to, and satisfaction with health services.  The project will contribute to these efforts by strengthening insurers' capacity to provide quality health insurance services; strengthening providers' capacity to manage and deliver quality health care services; and strengthening the government's capacity to guide and monitor health reforms. 

HIV Prevention Project
Implementer TBD
Sept. 2009 - Sept. 2014

The goal of the HIV Prevention Project is to support HIV prevention among high-risk groups in Georgia in order to avert the spread of HIV to the general population.  The activities will focus on: prevention in primary risk groups such as intravenous drug users; men who have sex with men and commercial sex workers; interventions with secondary risk groups likely to be infected next (youth); and stigma reduction.

Georgia Sustaining Family Planning and Maternal and Child Health Services Project - Sustain
John Snow, Inc (JSI)
Oct. 2009 - Oct. 2014
http://www.jsi.ge/

The project will meet critical maternal and child health and family planning needs while laying the foundation for long-term, sustainable family planning and maternal and neonatal health programs in the private sector, through private insurance industry plans, existing health clinics and planned health training units, while assuring continuous access to a broader range of contraceptive supplies in the private sector for the most vulnerable populations. 

Hepatitis B Catch-up Vaccination
Rostropovich Foundation
Sept. 2009 - March 2011
http://www.rostropovich.org/                                                                      

The project will provide vaccinations for 3,000 medical students and approximately 6,000 sero-negative healthcare workers throughout Georgia.  In addition, seminars for chief medical doctors and key opinion leaders in vaccinology will lead the way to the screening program for health care workers.  All vaccinations will be administered on a voluntary basis.